The Brazilian Foreign Ministry recalled its ambassador to Buenos Aires and summoned Argentina’s envoy in Brasilia for an explanation after President Javier Milei insulted his counterpart, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, during a visit to São Paulo to support Lula’s electoral rival, Flávio Bolsonaro.

Speaking at a convention of Brazil’s Liberal Party on Saturday, Milei referred to Lula, without naming him directly, as a ‘thief,’ a ‘former convict’ and a ‘totalitarian.’

‘If in Argentina we have what we used to call the ‘Kuka Risk’ as an economic factor, here in Brazil today you have the ‘Lula Risk’,” Milei said, referring to sovereign risk. Kuka is a pejorative term used in Argentina for supporters of former presidents Néstor and Cristina Kirchner and their political movement.

Milei also accused the Brazilian government of orchestrating and financing an “anti-Argentina campaign” during the 2026 World Cup, following accusations of racism and cheating directed at the country and its players.

“Do you know who put the most money into this anti-Argentina campaign? The Brazilian government,” Milei said in an interview with Radio Mitre after returning from São Paulo on Sunday. 

“Twenty-five percent of the funds came from the Brazilian government. And then they come and talk about interference,” he added, without providing evidence to support the claim.

Although Da Silva and Milei have been at odds since the latter became president, the comments made by Milei and the decision taken by the Brazilian Foreign Ministry represent a new peak in diplomatic tension between the two governments.

Diplomatic crisis

Following Milei’s remarks, Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira recalled Brazil’s ambassador to Argentina, Julio Bitelli, on Sunday.

Vieira also summoned Argentina’s ambassador to Brazil, Daniel Raimondi, “to express the Brazilian government’s condemnation of the offensive remarks made by President Javier Milei during his private visit to São Paulo on July 25” and to demand an explanation “regarding the Argentine president’s conduct on Brazilian soil,” according to a statement from Brazil’s Foreign Ministry.

“There is no precedent for a foreign president who, while on Brazilian soil, has repeatedly committed acts of aggression and hurled insults against the Head of State, democratic institutions — including the judiciary — and the Brazilian people,” the statement said.

“It is particularly regrettable that this disgraceful episode involves the president of a country with which Brazil has enjoyed 203 years of friendship and cooperation and which is Brazil’s main trading partner,” it added.

This is not the first time Milei’s remarks about a foreign leader have triggered a diplomatic dispute. Spain, Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela, and Nicaragua have all recalled their ambassadors at different times following insults directed by Milei at their presidents.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro went further, expelling Argentine diplomats from Bogotá after Milei called him a “terrorist assassin.” Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro severed diplomatic relations after Milei refused to recognize him as the country’s legitimate president in 2024.

Milei’s trip

Milei traveled to São Paulo on Friday night, where he met with Governor Tarcísio Gomes de Freitas and far-right presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro, who is set to challenge Lula in the October 4 election.

Flávio Bolsonaro’s candidacy was confirmed during the Liberal Party convention. He is the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro.

“I believe only Flávio can stop Lula and bring about real change for all Brazilians,” Milei told convention attendees.

Milei had also planned to visit Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a sentence under house arrest.

However, Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes denied permission for the visit. De Moraes temporarily barred Bolsonaro from receiving visitors — particularly for political purposes — after the former president released a political letter through his son, violating a court order prohibiting him from using social media, including through third parties.

During his speech, Milei said the “bald garbage” — referring to De Moraes — had prevented him from seeing his friend Bolsonaro, “who has been unfairly convicted.”

Milei also criticized Lula, calling him a “former convict” and noting that the Brazilian president visited Cristina Kirchner last year, while she was under house arrest. 

Lula was imprisoned between 2018 and 2019 on corruption charges that were later annulled.

Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced to more than 27 years in prison in September 2025 for his role in a plot to overturn the results of Brazil’s 2022 election and assassinate Lula, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, and Justice de Moraes. 

Prosecutors said the conspiracy was intended to prevent Lula from taking office after his election victory.